2016 Roosevelt

A wine built for the cellar, it opens with enticing aromas of dark cherry, cedar and violets. Tannins are rich and inviting, lending structure to the plum and toffee flavors with a woodsy edge of fir bough and black currant.

Accolades

“…an open nose of warm black and red cherries and berries with touches of cinnamon stick, dried leaves, red licorice and floral perfume. Light to medium-bodied, silky textured and very concentrated, it fills the mouth with ripe black and red fruits and spice, with a firm frame of grainy tannins and mouthwatering acidity, finishing with wonderful layers and a touch of salty licorice.”– Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (Aug 31, 2018)

Vintage

VINTAGE 2016 was a year of unusual weather that led to beautiful fruit at lower than average yields. In spring, an early heat spike meant a very condensed time frame for bloom. This gave us smaller than average berries and clusters and set us on the path for our third early harvest in a row. Thankfully, summer weather was cooler than average, which slowed down ripening and allowed flavor development to catch up to sugar accumulation. Due to our small initial crop estimates, we held off thinning until the last minute to delay ripening and add “hang-time”, an important factor in the development of complex flavors.

We were a little stunned when our first fruit hit the crush-pad in the last days of August, setting a record for our earliest harvest in 40 years. September and October brought relief from the heat with mild evenings and cool nights that allowed for slow, even ripening. We picked fruit that was absolutely pristine and perfectly ripe, at a gradual pace that allowed us to give our full attention to each block and work shorter hours than in a typical harvest season.

We are hopeful that 2016 will be just as great as the spectacular 2012 and 2014 vintages, and early signs indicate just that, with the wines showing moderate alcohols, balanced acids and great concentration.

Vineyard

Roosevelt vineyard was planted in 1993 and has quickly become Elk Cove’s most prized vineyard site. A four-acre high-density (2100 vines per acre) planting situated just south of the winery on Willakenzie soils, Roosevelt’s south-facing hillside slopes to a steep precipice overlooking the magnificent Williams Canyon.

Roosevelt undergoes extensive pruning and cluster thinning to limit yields and maximize ripening to concentrate the fruit and is managed using completely organic practices. All of these elements combine to consistently produce one of Oregon’s finest Pinot Noirs.

Winemaking

All of Elk Cove’s delicate Pinot Noir fruit undergoes the same gentle handling through our gravity flow system. This allows us to achieve the elegance, texture and luscious quality that are the hallmarks of exquisite Pinot Noir.

This reserve level pinot noir is produced exclusively from grapes from our Roosevelt Vineyard. The wine is fermented in 53% new oak and only the best barrels are selected to create what many consider Elk Cove’s finest Pinot Noir.

Viticultural & Enological Data

Vine Age 23

Harvest Sugars 24.5 brix

Vatting Fermentation in small open top steel fermenters. 10 months in French oak.